Anna Faris's cozy dressing room on the Warner Bros. Lot in Burbank, California, is more crowded than usual. Not only is it where she preps for filming her CBS TV series, Mom, but today it's also serving as a makeshift recording studio for her popular weekly podcast, Anna Faris Is Unqualified. For her 108th episode, she's sharing the couch with the multitalented comic, writer, actress, and director Whitney Cummings, and the conversation is typically raucous: dirty sex, true love, and rocky romantic relationships. Her handsome cohost Sim Sarna sits nearby, interjecting his male POV and keeping the hour-long show on track.
Dressed in ripped skinnies, a loose black tee, and gray Uggs, her blonde hair pulled back in a messy pony, Anna looks more like a cool college freshman than a 41-year-old mom to her son, Jack, 5. The accomplished comedian got her start playing a teenager in the Scary Movie franchise, which led to her starring role in the 2008 hit The House Bunny. During her Mom hiatus last summer, she filmed her new comedy, Overboard, a reboot of the 1987 movie starring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell.
"It was my sick-day movie and my favorite growing up," says Anna, her gigantic blue eyes widening. "I've seen the original hundreds of times." So when its star and producer, Mexican icon Eugenio Derbez, approached her about doing the remake, she was both excited and nervous. But, she adds, "how could I not do this movie?"
The podcast ends, the room clears out, and Anna (which is pronounced Ah-na, like Donna) curls up on the couch. After an hour of putting probing questions to Whitney, it's now her turn under the spotlight. "I'm so nervous to talk to you," she admits. Surprising, considering how many intimate details she divulged in her warts-and-all memoir, Unqualified. Seriously, the expression "she's an open book" has never been so apt.
Anna, who wrote her memoir while she was married to actor Chris Pratt, intended it as a riff on her podcast, which focuses on relationships. But then they announced their separation last summer, shortly before it hit bookstores, opening Anna up to a lot of awkward "what went wrong?" questions when she promoted the book. She kept her cool, though—and her perspective. "It's a little bit like, two incredibly busy people that care a lot for each other got really busy," she explained to The New York Times.
The couple has continued to take the high road and remains on friendly terms—no fingers have been pointed, no rumors spread. She's the first of the two to start dating (she's seeing cinematographer Michael Barrett), and Chris has recently returned to social media after a three-month hiatus. If Anna and Chris have their way, the divorce will be as drama-free as the marriage seems to have been.
Anna reaches for a bottle of white wine chilling nearby and pours a glass. She takes a couple of sips, and soon she's confessing all sorts of things about dieting, dating, divorcing, even what her favorite swear word is (hint: It rhymes with luck). Listen in as Anna tells all.
She got a boob job, and you'd better believe she doesn't regret it
"I was always a negative-A cup, so when I was 30, I was getting a divorce [she was married to Ben Indra for four years], I had just finished House Bunny, and I'd sold another movie, all of these new things were happening to me, so I got my breasts done. It was f-cking awesome. I never, ever thought I'd do something like that. I always thought plastic surgery was caving in to 'the man,' you know? But it came down to a really simple thing: I wanted to fill out a bikini. What would that feel like? I'm still floored that I did it, because I am a staunch feminist. I kept thinking, Am I betraying my own gender by doing this? I wish that we were more supportive of each other. I think that people should be able to do whatever they want, whether it's getting braces, bleaching their hair, getting extensions, getting a boob job, getting vaginal surgery, or getting a nose job."
"When I was pregnant, I gained 70 pounds! I wish it was all in my belly, but it was on my arms, my thighs, my ass. I remember at the time thinking, This is incredible. I'd never enjoyed food more and I didn't care. My vanity was completely tidal-waved by the need to just nourish this thing. Nothing was going to stop me! Finally, my doctor was like, 'Okay, you're, uh, gaining at a pretty rapid pace.' Well, yeah! For the first time in a long time, I had absolutely zero concern about my weight. It felt really good."
"I've never had a completely normal cycle, so now that I've passed 40, I do wonder about being premenopausal—and sometimes I feel like my eyes can't focus quite as well. But the larger picture is that I feel happier as I get older. You know how in your twenties and thirties you think, That must be so miserable? But I don't have as many hang-ups now. There's a wonderful liberation."
"I've got a gazillion bottles and jars of beauty products. I love Laura Mercier Hand Creme and YSL foundation. I have at least five drawers of serums and eye creams, and I just can't bring myself to toss things that aren't empty. I get this weird sense of accomplishment when I finish a tube of something and throw it away."
"I'm the worst person to be on the cover. Truly. Just look at me! I drink wine; I don't work out, really; I hoard makeup."
She and Chris still love each other
"I love love! Like all of us, I need a sense of human connection and intimacy. At the end of a workday I feel exposed and kind of raw. I want to be with someone I can confess to, and who can confess to me."
"What Chris and I try to do is to communicate openly. We reiterate that there aren't rules to this. We have a lot of love and friendship, and our big goal is to protect Jack. I cherish my family, my close friends, my child—that makes the rest of it worth it."
She swears by Ina Garten's roast chicken recipe—and cheeseburgers
"My mom was an incredible cook. She didn't cut out fat in any way. She's all about butter and full-fat milk. She made everything herself—smoothies with homemade yogurt, bread, granola, and her famous pies. I also love to cook and make things that are sort of good for me. Okay, that's not true. I make really fattening things, with great ingredients like good olive oil, good butter, organic chicken. Shit like that!"
"I had a very healthy upbringing when it came to eating, but it also made me a rebel because there wasn't any junk food in the house. I'd go to my friends' to sneak Doritos—chips of any kind were my favorite junk food growing up."
"I love having dinner at my house with friends. I use that Ina Garten recipe for roast chicken and do a baked-potato bar with butter, sour cream, bacon, and green onions. And good garlic bread: salt, butter, garlic; wrap it in foil; bake it in the oven—and nobody wants to make out. "
"I've never worked on a show where I lost weight, except for Mom. I run up and down stairs 30 or 40 times a day from the set to my dressing room, I'm doing this podcast, I've got a 5-year-old. I feel so busy; I don't have a ton of time to indulge in foods I love, like a cheeseburger and fries, with mayonnaise, my favorite condiment. Food's more of an efficiency thing. When I do get a chance to eat something fabulous or make something fabulous, I love and cherish it. "
Hiking is her jam
"I grew up in Washington, and my dad took us hiking in the mountains every weekend. I had a passion for it early on. We weren't allowed to bring friends, and I'm really grateful for that time because it forced me to have conversations with my parents and appreciate nature. I hope to instill that in my son."
"I don't meditate; I probably should, but now I think of hiking as my time to be alone and reflect. I love pushing my body, but I also love the solitude. It's one of the few times in my week that I get to be by myself and think about things. Sometimes I listen to other podcasts and get inspiration from them. "
Her dream podcast guest would be... drumroll...
"Michelle Obama, of course. Then all of the great comedians I admire, like Kristen Wiig, Cecily Strong, Amy Schumer, Melissa McCarthy."
This article originally appeared in the May 2018 issue of Women's Health. For more great advice and insight, pick up a copy on newsstands now!
